‘We’re in a Climate Change Emergency’
Such extreme weather is much more likely now because of climate change, scientists say. As the greenhouse gas effect warms the planet, they say floods, droughts, mudslides and other extreme weather events are expected to occur more often, and with greater ferocity.

“Climate change is a global problem, but the reason we care about it is because it’s impacting us in the places where we live,” said Katharine Hayhoe, a Canadian who is the co-director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. “It’s taking these weather patterns that we’ve seen before and…putting them on steroids, so to speak.”

Paul Beckwith, who works on climatology in the Department of Geography at the University of Ottawa, also said flooding is being exacerbated by the “whiplash” of extremely wet or dry weather that is the result of climate change [Clausius-Clapeyron rate].

“We’re getting a lot more extreme weather events around the planet, whether that be torrential rains leading to flooding, or really hot and dry temperatures leading to drought,” he said.

“These extreme weather events are much more severe, much more intense, they last longer, they’re happening more frequently, and they’re happening in areas where they didn’t happen before.”

Rapidly rising water comes dangerously close on May 8, 2017 to the Chaudière Bridge near the Canadian War Museum on the Ottawa River. Photo by Alex Tétreault

He said the root cause was that the Arctic was warming faster than any other global hotspot. As white sea ice and snow cover give way to darker permafrost or open ocean, the process accelerates.

“I’ve been saying we’re in a climate change emergency, and therefore we have to respond as if it’s in an emergency,” he said.

That means eliminating fossil fuel emissions, a major driver of climate change, as a very first step, Beckwith added.

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About paulbeckwith

Well known climate science educator; Part-time Geography professor (climatology, oceanography, environmental issues), University of Ottawa. Physicist. Engineer. Master's Degree in Science in Laser Optics, Bachelors of Engineering, in Engineering Physics. Won Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario gold medal. Also interested in investment and start-ups in climate solutions, renewable energy and energy efficiency. Avid chess player, and likes restoring old homes. Married with children.

2 Responses to Record Ottawa River Flooding From Climate Change

If we eliminate fossil fuels 100% our Global Industrial Civilisation collapses with perhaps some billions dying. There are no equivalent energy at scale substitutes available. Even the so called “renewable” energy alternatives depend on fossil fuels somewhere. This is a well known dilemma or as they say: We’re darned if we do and we’re darned if we don’t.

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Summary

Well known and respected creator of entertaining and comprehensible videos of sometimes daunting subjects, especially in climate system science, meteorology, oceanography and Earth Sciences at YouTube.
Frequently called upon for commentary by fellow educators, activists, and public. Physicist, Engineer, and part-time professor at the University of Ottawa. His primary interest is joining-the-dots on Abrupt Climate System Change to determine where we are heading, and how fast, and what it all means for us and our amazing planet.